Bad service.
 

Bad service.

I often feel that American firms give good customer service compared to the UK.

Most firms in the UK treat customers like dirt. Banks charge huge amounts for going overdrawn by one pound. If you call most customer service centres you spend hours on the phone waiting to speak to someone (I spent 40 mins weighting to pay my BT phone bill before someone answered). Trains are run badly. Every body seems out to rip others off and make as much as they can.

Yet, if I buy anything over the net from the USA and needed to phone the company. I get through quickly. People are polite. Goods delivered very quick.

good customer service is one of the most important things for a company... is the UK really that bad?

Yes it is.

Lets face it, name a British Product, there are not many, and those that there are, are badly made.

Some top UK firms (OK some may now be owned by other countries):

BT (British Telecom). To save money, most of its callcenteres are being moved to other countries, i.e. India. To phone up it takes ages to speak to someone.

British Airways. Seems to get a lot of complaints.

The railways. Most trains are now late, and the lines are in a mess. But the best thing is, is the cost of the tickets keep going up.

Roads. Most of the road tax does not go onto the roads but is used for other things.

NHS. The NHS is in a mess. I was a student nurse, I gave up as the conditions were so bad.

Schools. These are a mess. Buildings falling down. Disgusting. The latest report was Prisoners got better meals than school kids. A friend of mine works as a dinner lady in the local school. She was shocked by what the poor kids get.

Government. Labour are full of shit. Most people are sick of them. No one believes Priminister Blair. The trouble is, is that there is no real alternative.

Petrol. Our petrol is said to be the most expensive in the world.

Food. Just look at mad cow disease, eggs, and so on.

I get treated like a king when I call or visit Barclays in London and service in Hotels are good there at least for me.